Safety device for ladders



E. I1 HUF?.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR LADDERLa APPLICATION HLID MM 14| 1919. L

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NOHRIS PETERS. INC.. LITHD.. WASHINGTON, D C

E. I. HUFF.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR LADDERS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY14.1919. 1,373,1 33. Patented Mar. 29, 1921.

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clrror mi UNITED STATES EDWARD I. HUFF, F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

SAFETY DEVICE F03 LADDEBS.

Speciiication of Letters'Patent. Patented MaI- 29, 1921.

y Application led May14, 1919. Serial No. 297,031.

Be it known that I, EDWARD I. I-IUFF, a

' citizen of the United States, and a resident of Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, State of Peimsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety Devices for Ladders, or' which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates particularly to that classici devices that are employed in connection with ladders or other climbing apparatus, and is especially directed to hand-ac tuated mechanism cooperative with means carried by the ladder to prevent the climber from falling therefrom. y

The principal objects of my invention are to provide a ladder with means so coperative with movable handgrips carried by the climber as to permit their free normal movement effected by the climber in ascending or descending, vbut which will automatically catch and retain the climber should he fall.

Other objects of my invention are to provide a ladder with run-ways on the side-rails y thereof, with which hand-grips be slidably engaged in such relation as to be inseparable therefrom while in use, and to provide said hand-grips with means for attaching them to the climber.

My invention also comprehends a station so connected with the run-way that a plurality of hand-grips may be held ready for the use of different climbers, and said station may be constructed to include as many handgrips as there are climbers likely to ascend the ladder.

The form of my invention as hereinafter described comprises a ladder having its hand-rails provided with tubular runways, each having a slot with one edge smooth or straight and the other edge notched, and a hand-grip provided with wristlets arranged to engage the wrist of the climber, and having a shank extended through said slot and retained therein by an enlarged flange within said run-way, said shank being free to slide up and down said slot unless drawn into engagement with the notches by any abnormal movement of the climber, as by his tending to fall.

My invention also includes all of the various novel features oi construction and arrangement as hereinafter more definitely specified.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevational View of a ladder conveniently embodying my invention as applied to a chimney or stack; Fi 2 is a front elevational view of the ladder s own in Fig. 1; Ifig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary front elevational view showi in detail the right hand side-rails of a lad er havin a tubular run-way attached, and a ha1id-gr1p engaged in a notch in the run-way slot; Fig. 4 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the structure shown in Fi 3; and Fig. 5 is a plan sectional view ta'en on the line 5--5 in Fig. 4.

I In said figures the ladder comprising the side-rails 1, rungs 2, and run-ways 3`, may beapplied as shown in Fig. 1, to a stack or chimney 5, or may be adapted to any structure where a ladder is required. Said runways 3 may preferablyeextend above thetop of the chimney and i continued horizontally as shown, being connected thereto by the angle-iron supports 6 and 7.

The run-ways which may be preferably formed of rectangular tubes are each provided with a continuous slot 9 in its lateral lwall 10, having its inner edge 11 ex tending .uninterruptedly parallel with its longitudinal axis, and its outer edge provided with a series of regularly spaced notches 12 as shown in Figs. l and 4.

Ihe run-ways 3 are provided with handgrips comprising the yoke 13, carrying the handle 15, and having the shank 16 extend ing through the slot 9, and provided within the run-way 3 with an enlarged head 17 preferably in the form of a circular disk arranged to prevent the displacement or removal of the hand-grips while in use.

Said hand-grips are provided with wristlets 20 preferably formed of a leather strap and loosely but securely connected with the base of the yoke 13 by the ring or link 21, engaging the eye 22 on said base. The wristlets 20 are looped in theforln of a noose having its outer terminal provided with a ring 23 embracing the strap and providing a loop 25 through which the hand may be passed to grip the handle 15.

It will be obvious from the foregoing description that the climber, having attached the wristlets 20 to his wrists, and grasped the handles 15 of the hand-grips upon the opposite sides of the ladder. may readily ascend or descend said ladder by sliding the shanks 16 of the hand-grips up or down the slots 9 of the run-ways 3, and that should llO sion for obviousl if an of the runes were'v missing or even were there no rungs he could readily climb by alternately engaging the shanks V16 of the respective hand-grips with the notches l2," and thereby draw himself up by hand. This is especially advantageous in connection with telephone, telegraph, light or Vflag poles, wherein it is undesirable to provide means for climbing capable of being used by mischievous persons or minors.

It may be here noted that the run-ways 3 may form the side-rails of a ladder, as is shown in the upper portion of Fig. 2, or that said run-ways 8 may be applied or attached to the side-rails 2 of a ladder by bolts 26, asshown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, in which event the lateral wall l() of the run-way is provided with apertures 27 registering with apertures 29 in the opposite wall, through which the bolts 26 may be passed.

AsV shown'in Figs. l and 2, the run-ways 3 may terminate in terminal stations 30 for the hand-grips when not in use, said stations each comprising a hollow casing having its outer wall 3l provided with a slot 32 registering with, and forming a continuation of the slot 9, and having a plurality of spurs 33, extending laterally therefrom, into which the shank 16 of the hand-grip may be slid, as best shown in Fig. l, it being understoodv that'although but one pair of handgrips are shown in the station, each of the spurs 33 may have hand-grips thereinready for use. y

The stations may, if desired, be provided with covers 35 hingedly connected therewith, and may be locked to prevent unauthorized persons from tampering with the hand-grips in said stations, the cover on the left of Fig. 2 being shown open and the cover on the right of said figure being shown closed for convenience of illustration.

I do not desire to limit my invention to l the precise details of construction and arrangement as herein specied, as it is obvlous that various modifications may be made therein without departing from the essential features ot my invention as deined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

l. In a climbing apparatus, the combination with a tubular run-way provided with a slot having a straight edge and a notched edge, o hand-grips operated by the climber, arranged to freely slide and rotate in said slot, in engagement with said straight edge, but automatically arrested by the notches of the notched edge, and retained thereby, upon downward movement of said gripping means away from said straight edge.

2. In a climbing apparatus, the combination with a run-way having a slot provided with a notched edge, of hand-grips having means cooperative with the notches in said run-way to prevent the climber from falling, and a station ior said hand-grips having a slot registering with the slot in said run-way, and provided with spur slots extending laterally i'rom said slot, for the reception of said gripping means.

3. In a climbing' apparatus. the combination with a run-way having a slot provided with a notched edge, ot gripping means cooperative with the notches in said run-way to prevent the climber from falling, and a station for said gripping means, having a slot registering with the slot in said runway, and provided with spurs extending laterally from said slot, for the reception ot said gripping means, and a cover for said station.

4. A ladder having its side-rails provided with run-ways having each a slot provided with a notched edge, and a hand-grip coperative with each of said run-ways to prevent the climber from falling, comprising a handle, a shank extended through said slot engageable with the notches of said notched edge, and a flanged head on said shank within said run-way to prevent the displacement of said hand-grip-ii'rom said run-way while in use.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 13th day of May, A. D. 1919.

EDIARD I. HUFF. [n s] Witnesses WILLIAM J. RUSSELL, CLIFTON C. HALLowELL. 

